Die for shaping composition plates.



J. P. WRIGHT.

DIE FOR SHAPING GOMPOSITION PLATES.

- APPLICATION FILED JAN.31, mqa.

9-1 13257. Patented Jan.19,1;1'909.

WITNESSES 1 INVENTOR 521 M 2'; 3' Jbjzizfllfzlgr/ai BY I A7TOHMEYS State of Delaware, have invented a new wordsi I JOHN P. WRIGHT, or NEWARK, DELAWARE.

. pra n-0a marine oonrosr'rron names.

Specification oi Letters'iatent. Application filed January 31, 1908.

Patented as. 19, 1909.

Serial No. 413,506.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Joni: P. Nmon'r, citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, in the county of Newcastle and ant mproved Die for Shaping Composition Plates, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to dies for shaping composition plates, and more particularly to such plates made of vulcanized fiber or allied substances, and to a method for shaping said plates.

In the construction of railway tracks it is frequently desirable to insulate the rails from the chairs and other track fixtures. To this end it is customary to provide plates of insulating material fitting the .lower portion of the rail and fixtures disposed immediately adjacent thereto. Vulcanized. fiber and various compositions analogous thereto are suitable as materials for the construction of such plates. in practice, however, that in bending plates of vulcanized fiber and similar compositions, so as to form said plates to fit the rail, it is exceedingly difficult to attain in the finished article a proper conformity. The reason for this is found in the fact that plates of thecomposition in question can best be bent by subjecting them to the actionoi steam or lieat'and steam heat accompanied by pressure, and that when released from the mold the articles have a slight tendency to return to their original shape. Beginning, for instance, with a strai ht plate. and bending the same in a die under proper conditions of heat, the finished article acts'as if it had a slight tendency to straighten out, the plate as originally prepared having been fiat.

What 1 seek to do in the present invention is to givethe die such form as to distort the plate, thus givin the latter a. shape which would be use ess .in practice, but

which, owing to the natural tendency of the material to straighten out slightly, brings the finished article into the approximate form in which it is to be used. In other mold the-plate into an article whichlis purposely distorted in order that the natural tendency inherentin the plate to straighten out, may correct the distortion finished article as nearly as possible in its ideal shape. Of course, it is difiicult in practice to confer upon the finished plate the exact form it should have,

| for the reason that in one plate the a ition is greater than in another.

distor- I find, however, that it is highly practicable; to so form the plates that their shapes will be sufficiently near perfect to enable them to be used with great satisfaction.

ing drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation showing the two members of a die used for shaping a plate and also showing the fiat late. of material ready to be clamped be- *tween the die members; Fig. 2 shows the die as closed and as having formed the plate; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the die when closed; Fig. l isa perspective showing the shape of the plate while contained within the mold, and also showing its shape at the instant when it emerges from the mold and before it has time to undergo the I desired distortion; Fig. 5 is a perspective showing the finished plate after it has un- Reference is to be had to the accompany- 5 and secured thereto in. position by the metal work of the track.

One of the die members is shown at 7 and the other at 8. Each die member, 7, 8 is made of-iron or other metal and is divided. Fillers 7*, 7 8 8 (see Fig. 2) of iron, having the form of slices the general con-. formity of which corresponds to the members 7, 8, are provided and are inserted within these members. The purpose of the fillers is to make the die members 7 8 of varying thickness in order to adapt the mold for hails of different proportions. At- 9 is a channel in the die member 7, while the die member 8 is provided with a smaller channel 10, and slidably mounted within the latter is a tongue 11. Pressure bolts 12 extend through the upper portion of the die member 8 and into the channel 10. These pressure bolts are provided with heads 13 wlnreby thfmay be turned. and are further provided with lock nuts 14 for holding them securely in predetermined positions. A. countersink 12 1is provided for the purpost of admitting the heads 13 and nuts 14; into the body. of the die member 8. The

purpose of this arrangement 1s to enable' the die member 8 to provlde a flat surface so that when the die as a whole is placed in a hydraulic press there will be no rotruding members to interfere with uni ormity in the pressure exerted upon the die. Stay bolts l5, 16 are provided for the purpose of holding together different portions of the 9 die members, said die members being of composite structure. Locking nuts 17 are employed for holding these bolts rigidly in position. The lower die member 7 is provided with a recess 18, and the upper die member 8 is provided with a projection 19 mating this recess.

A-sheet or material to be molded is shown at 2'0 and is originall flat, as indicated in Fig. 1. When this heet of material is pressed within the die for a suitable length of time, it assumes the form of a partially finished article 20, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4. It is now provided with a number of bends 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. After being ejected from the mold, this finished article, obeying the natural tendency of the plate to straighten out slightly, assumes the form indicated at 20 in Fig. 5. It is now provided with bolt holes 26 and is ready for use. The bends are now slightly more obtuse than before, as indicated at 27, 28, 29,

' 30 and 31.

I 30 It will be understood, of course, thdl'. be-

fore the die members 7, 8 are placed together, the fillers 7, 7", 8, 8 arefiinserted or removed,'as the case may be, in order that the die members may be of proper proportions. In various rails the web or so-called fish-plate is in some instances higher than in others, Such being the case, the portion 20 of the member of vulcanized fiber should in some instances be higher than in others. This is accomplished, as above indicated, by inserting or removing a suliicient number of fillers, the dimensions of the die bein thus altered at will. I also find it exped nt to provide morethan one tongue 11 and to have these tongues graduated in size and especially in depth,.for the purpose of propproportions.

fillers, the bolts 16 are taken out and after the change is made are put back, the nuts 17 holding the fillers rigidly in position relatively to the rest of the die member.

The method above described may be employed in connection with quite a diversity of materials. Some of these may be softened by the application of heat, while others require the application of water, hot or cold, or steam, and still othersv may be softened without the aid of any of the particular members placed together, and the entire die being placed in a hydraulic press, and pressure being applied, the plate is forced into exact conformity with the mold, as will be understood from Fig. 2. The finished plate, bent as indicated in Fig. 5, may now be fitted directly against the rail and held in position by the metal work 32, as indicated in Fig. 6. Of course, as in other plates of this kind, any slight irregularity inits form may be corrected within certain limits by the manner in which it is fit-ted' against the rail and held in position by pther parts.

I do not limit myself to any particular material to be used in making the articles of manufacture above described exce t that, as a prerequisite, the material shal have a slight tendency to undergo distortion from the shape inwhich it is left by the mold.

Many insulating materials, includingvuL,

canized fiber, 'vulcanite, hard rubber and various admixtures of materials used as substitutes for these substances, have the properties in question.

- lVhile the particular article of manufacture I show is a jointing plate, the principle of the invention may obviously be employed for making articles of other kinds.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A die comprising members mating each other and adapted to receive between them a material to be molded, each of said members bein composite and provided with removable llers for varying one of its dimensions.

2. A die comprising a pair of die members mating each other and adapted to receive be- 7 tween them a material to be molded, 'each of said die members being composite and provided with a bolt extended through it, and further provided with fillers'for varying one of its dimensions, said fillers being clamped by said bolt.

In-testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN P. WRIGHT. Witnesses: I

W. L. BONHAM, E. M. GRIFFIN. 

